


Summers Under the Stars

by MeghanAnna



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: F/M, Modern AU, Summer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-17
Updated: 2015-05-17
Packaged: 2018-03-30 22:31:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3954262
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MeghanAnna/pseuds/MeghanAnna
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Bellamy and Octavia's grandmother dies, Bellamy heads to Ark, where Octavia's been living for the last ten years, for the funeral. He expects to stay just until his sister tells him to go back to California, but every time he comes in contact with Clarke Griffin next door, his timeline keeps getting longer and longer. What was meant to be just a few days, a week, a month, turns into the entire summer, just like when he'd come to visit on summer breaks from college. But he's not in college anymore, he's a writer and writers can write anywhere.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Summers Under the Stars

**Author's Note:**

> I was supposed to write a paper today. I wrote this instead. Damn it.

The bar was darker than Bellamy remembered—the only light coming from the windows in the front. It was exponentially cooler than the air outside, though, and for that he was thankful. He had a long day ahead of him and a good portion of it would take place outside. He needed as much air conditioning as he could get whenever he could get it. He forgot how hot it got in Ark in the summer, which is strange because it’s the only time of year he ever spent there. It was fitting that both of his grandparents happened to pass in the early months of summer, just three years apart.

He looked around the room, expecting it to be empty but surprised nonetheless. He’d never seen it empty. He’d never even seen it anything less than packed. It seemed smaller when it was full of empty tables and stools. Instead of calling out for anyone, he sat at the bar and fixed his black tie, stalling before he had to leave and deal with the day ahead of him.

“Everyone should be getting here around 2,” he heard a familiar voice and sat up taller as it got closer. “Everything should be all set, just needs to be cooked and put out. I’ll come back early and help you finish up.”

“Not necessary,” another familiar voice followed and the two women walked out of the kitchen and stopped dead in their tracks at the sight of him. “Blake,” Raven said with a warm smile and he nodded once in greeting.

“What are you doing here, Bellamy?” Clarke asked, checking the time on her father’s watch that lived on her left wrist. “Octavia’s at the funeral home.”

“She asked me to give you a ride since Raven is staying behind to set up for the reception,” he explained and she nodded. “And I’m not exactly her favorite person right now, so I’m doing what I’m told.”

“Smart,” Raven remarked as she came around the bar and he stood up to give her a hug. “I’m so sorry.”

“Thanks,” he smiled tightly and they pulled away just in time for Clarke to throw her arms around his neck tightly. One arm hugged her waist as the other landed in her hair and held her against his chest. He could feel her fingers curling into his own hair and they held each other longer and tighter. “I’m okay,” he promised quietly and she nodded against him before pulling back to look at him.

“You will be,” she promised and for some reason, he actually believed her. “We should go. See you later, Raven.”

“Thanks for setting this up, by the way,” Bellamy said, hand fanning out at the bar. Even though it was empty, he knew it would be filled to the brim with food, drinks, and people by the time he got back.

“Anything for the Blakes,” she promised and he smiled before putting a hand on Clarke’s back to lead her out.

The walk to his rented truck was silent, the drive was silent, not a word spoken until he turned it off and stared at the funeral home in front of them. “She needs you, Bell,” Clarke whispered and he nodded. “She won’t say as much, but I know her and I know what she needs right now.”

“Then I guess we should go inside,” he said and she reached over to squeeze his hand before they climbed out of the truck together.

Clarke walked ahead of him, pulling the bottom of her black dress down and fluffing out her hair while he followed behind with his hands in the pockets of his wrinkled suit. The parking lot was already filling up and he spotted Octavia’s beat up convertible right near the front door. He bought it for her with the profit from his first book four years earlier—the summer before their grandfather died—and it looked the same, even a little better, no doubt thanks to Raven. He stopped at the back of it and took a few deep breaths until Clarke noticed and turned to look at him.

She didn’t say anything, she didn’t rush him, and she didn’t leave him there. She just watched him carefully with a soft look on her face and he almost screamed because he didn’t want to be in Ark. He didn’t want to be there for his grandmother’s funeral. He didn’t want to be there to see Octavia for the first time in a year. And he didn’t want to be there to see the people he spent seven summers with. He hadn’t been back since his grandfather’s funeral and he hadn’t seen his sister since she went to visit him in California two years later. In the ten years since their mother died, Octavia had lived in Ark while Bellamy started college and then the rest of his life on the West Coast. And even though his sister was graduating from the local university in a week, he kind of expected her to come back with him. She didn’t feel the same way. She was twenty-three and she was going to stay right where she was with the people she’d spent the last ten years with.

“Okay,” he said to himself, straightening his tie and walking toward Clarke. She smiled at him and pulled the door open for him to walk in first. He sighed and kept his head down, looking up through his eyelashes every few seconds. People weren’t looking at him or even the casket, though; they were all surrounding his little sister—with her puffy, red eyes and wavering voice thanking them all for being there.

He almost stopped again, but he felt two hands smoothing down his back and he finally stood up straight and looked his sister in the eye. She didn’t smile, she didn’t say anything, she just walked through the crowd around her and threw her arms around his neck. He could feel her tears against his neck and he felt guilty for wanting to be anywhere else. He needed to be there—for his sister and for himself.

\--

Clarke left the Blakes to themselves and passed them to pay her respects one last time before Mrs. Blake’s casket was closed for the last time. She wasn’t religious, never had been, but she wanted to say—or think—a few words for her neighbor. She’d grown up in the house next to the Blakes and the older married couple treated her like their own on the evenings her parents were working and even more so when Octavia moved in and she and Clarke hit it off immediately. She loved Mrs. Blake like she were her own grandmother and she was going to miss seeing her when she was at her mother’s house.

When she stood up, she felt tears falling down her face and she wiped them away before falling in a seat between Jasper and Monty, curling into Monty’s side as his arm went around her shoulders. They sat in silence as more people came into say goodbye and they finally stood when Bellamy and Octavia told them that they needed to start heading for the cemetery. She hugged Octavia tightly and whispered that she loved her and she felt warm tears on her shoulder and felt her best friend shake in her arms. Together, they pulled apart and stood tall. Clarke smiled and Octavia breathed in and out before smiling herself.

Clarke stood on her toes and pressed a kiss to Bellamy’s cheek before taking Monty and Jasper’s hands and dragging them to Jasper’s car. They lined up with the long line of cars and she watched as the Blakes got into the limousine at the front of the line and she sat back in her seat, feeling the sweat start to bead down her face and chest.

“Jas, any chance you got the A/C fixed?” She asked and he choked out a laugh. She should have known better. It had been broken for the last five years. 

The line of cars in front of them finally started moving and Jasper fell in behind them with another, longer line behind them. It was a short drive to the cemetery, but the ride felt long and Clarke slid over to sit in the middle seat so she could lean forward between the boys. She reached forward and switched the radio to something a little less aggressive and turned it down, earning a sigh from Jasper. She glanced at the phone in Monty’s hand and noticed Nathan’s name across the top as he furiously typed a message. She turned and looked out the back window to see Harper and Monroe behind them and waved back when they waved first. She tapped the face of her father’s watch and wished her mother wasn’t out of the country.

When they finally arrived at the gravesite, Monty and Jasper left her so they could help Bellamy, Nathan, Thelonious, and Wells carry the casket. She walked over instead with Harper and Monroe, standing behind Octavia as she began sobbing again. She squeezed her shoulder and the crowd around them continued to grow until almost the entire town was standing with them. A priest spoke, Octavia spoke, and Bellamy stood back and glanced at Clarke over his shoulder. She rubbed across his shoulders and he looked at his feet before puffing out his chest and looking back at his grandmother’s casket as it was lowered into the ground.

When it was all over, Octavia turned toward her and fell against her chest. As her arms circled her friend, her eyes found Bellamy’s and she could see how badly he wanted to be the one comforting his sister.

“Hey, it’s going to be okay, O,” she promised, hoping she was right. They’d both lost a parent, but now Octavia had lost both of her grandparents. She didn’t know her father, her brother lived across the country, and she felt like she had no family left. “I’m right here. Always, okay?”

Octavia nodded against her before standing up and glancing at her brother. “Mind if we ride back with you and ditch the limo?” She asked Jasper and he nodded. “Thanks.”

Together, the five of them walked across the grass and climbed into Jasper’s car. The ride back was even hotter since the car was filled to capacity, but Clarke didn’t mind being squished between the estranged Blake siblings. Octavia was her best friend and during the summers that Bellamy had spent in Ark, he fit in just as well as anyone else. When she lived next door to Octavia and her grandparents, the three of them spent their summer days on her pool deck and the nights around the fire pit in their backyard. But, Bellamy hadn’t been around in three years and she sometimes still thought of him as that college kid she first met when she was fifteen and he was eighteen. It was hard to believe that was ten years ago and he was twenty-eight, a thrice published author of historical fiction, and she was finally starting medical school in the fall. It was hard to remember everything else that had happened between them in those ten years.

When they finally arrived back at the Dropship, Clarke wasn’t surprised at all to find it perfectly set up and Raven welcoming everyone inside with open arms. That was what they did in Ark. When one of them hurt, the whole town hurt. Even though Octavia wasn’t born in Ark, she’d been there for ten years and she was one of them. Her grandparents had been lifers and everyone loved them, now that they were both gone, it was even more reason for the whole town to rally behind Octavia and love her like she needed.

The five of them found a booth in the back corner and watched in silence as people filled up their plates and grabbed drinks. Clarke knew that Octavia hadn’t been eating since her grandmother died five days earlier, not much at least. And she knew that Bellamy wouldn’t get food until everyone else had, so she waited for things to settle down and stood up to get her own plate. As she walked by Bellamy, she tugged on the sleeve of his jacket and he looked at his silent sister before standing up and joining her at the back of the line.

“How long are you staying?” She asked and he shrugged as she handed him a plate. “O said you have a draft due at the end of the summer.”

“Yup,” he confirmed and she nodded in thought. “What’s it to you?”

“I told you already,” she said, moving down the table to fill her plate with salad. “Your sister needs you and she’s not going to be one to tell you. She’s living in that house alone. Can you imagine what that’s like?”

“I’ll stay until she tells me to go,” he told her and she smiled softly at him. He shook his head before his own smile erupted across his face. “And how have you been, Princess?”

“You’d know if you ever bothered to call,” she reminded him and he scoffed as they made their way back to the table.

“The phone works both ways.”

“You’re supposed to be the adult.”

“That’s never been the case and you know it,” he told her and she laughed. When they reached their friends, she slid her plate in front of Octavia and sat down next to Raven who had joined them while they were grabbing food.

\--

Octavia spoke to everyone. She accepted apologies from everyone. She didn’t speak to Bellamy, though. She listened and answered only when he spoke directly to her, but when they were back at their grandparents’ house—well past dark—she left him alone in the living room and slammed the door to her bedroom. He only sighed and went back to his rental truck to bring in his luggage. He’d gone straight from the airport to the bar and all he wanted was to get out of his suit.

He changed into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt and sat on his bed for an hour, hoping Octavia would come out of her room and finally talk to him for real. She didn’t though and when he called her name, she didn’t answer, so he poked his head into her room and found her sleeping. With a sigh, he left her there and bolted down the steps and out the back door before crossing over the lawn to Clarke’s mother’s house.

Octavia had told him almost a year before that she’d moved out to get an apartment with Raven, but when he offered her a ride home, she asked him just to drive to his grandparents’ so she could spend the night next door. He was exhausted and it made things easier for everyone, so he didn’t question it. He was actually hoping Octavia would do it for him, but it didn’t seem to faze her at all.

He let himself onto the pool deck, hoping to find her there, but had to keep walking until he was on the porch and at the backdoor. He knocked once and she was there within seconds.

“I knew one of you would show up,” she said with a smile and he shrugged. She stepped aside and let him in. He sat down at the kitchen island while she pulled two beers from the fridge. He didn’t know Abby Griffin well, but he knew her enough that she didn’t seem like a beer kind of woman. “Raven’s got a new boyfriend and apparently he’s a very good lover. I only know because, she’s so passionate in telling him—over and over and _over_ again.”

Bellamy barked out a laugh and took the beer being offered to him. “So, what? You’re hiding out here until things die down?”

“My mom’s on a medical mission in Guatemala, so I’m staying here for the summer to give Raven and Wick some time alone while in they’re in their honeymoon stage,” she explained. “Also, it’s been good being next door to Octavia while your grandmother got worse.”

“Thank you for being there for her,” he said quietly, any sign of a laugh completely gone from his voice.

“You couldn’t be, so I was happy to do it,” she told him with a smile and a squeeze of his hand. “She doesn’t hate you, you know.”

“I’m not so sure,” he told her after a long sip of his beer. “I’m not sure at all, actually.”

“I am,” she laughed. “Bell, she’s just- she’s heartbroken. I think she’s more scared than anything. You’re all she has, bloodline wise, and she can’t lose you, too. And you weren’t here when it actually happened and that killed her because even though you weren’t that close to your grandparents, they were the most important people in her life behind you and your mom.”

“I wanted her to stay in California after my mom died,” he told her and she nodded.

“I know, but you were eighteen. You’d just started college and your grandparents were so happy to have her here,” she explained and he sighed before laying his head down on the marble countertop. “Now look at you, you big, successful author.”

“Shut up,” he laughed. He felt her fingers in his hair before they tightened and yanked his head off the counter. “This place reminds me of my mother and I hate it. I only ever spent the summers here so I could see Octavia.”

“I figured,” she said, her fingers soothing the spot on his hair where they’d just been pulling. “You’re a good brother, Bellamy. She knows that. Like I said, she’s just hurting.”

“You never really answered me earlier,” he remembered once her hands were in her own lap. “How have you been the last three years?”

“Same as always,” she shrugged, taking a sip of her beer as he watched her. “I start medical school in September.”

“Oh, yeah?” He asked and she nodded with a slight smile. “Congratulations, Doc.”

“Not yet,” she laughed and he smiled. “How have you been?”

“Bored out of my mind,” he told her honestly and her smile was apologetic. “I haven’t been writing and with this book due in September, I don’t know what do with myself.”

“Write, you dummy,” she teased and he rolled his eyes in return. “You’re always writing something, what’s holding you up?”

“I think I need a muse,” he pondered and Clarke laughed, throwing her head back. He couldn’t help but laugh along with her. “You still painting?”

“Of course. That’s another reason I’m here; my old studio is much better than the kitchen in my apartment.”

“I bet. Can I see what you’re working on?” She nodded and they walked through the downstairs and up to the second floor.

\--

Clarke stopped at the door of her studio, in the room next to her bedroom, and turned to look at Bellamy. He was watching her with a single raised eyebrow in question and she let out a deep breath. “I’m glad you’re here,” she told him suddenly, surprising even herself. His smile was slow, but blinding. “Not just here in my house, but _here_. For Octavia.”

“Right,” he nodded slowly. “For Octavia.”

She rolled her eyes and pushed the door open slowly, self conscious all of a sudden. She was more focused on getting to medical school than on her art, but it didn’t mean that she didn’t care what people thought. Bellamy had always been very nice when it came to her sketches and her paintings, but it had been three years since they’d last seen each other and even longer since he’d been in her studio.

When Clarke flipped on the lights, Bellamy stood at her back and looked over her shoulder at the three easels set up around the room. Her breath caught in her throat as she looked at her own pieces. One was a landscape of the beach on the edge of town, another was a portrait of her father based on a picture she’d found in her mother’s things, and the last was the beginning of another portrait. Thankfully, it was just an outline and Bellamy wasn’t aware of how his face would soon be taking up the canvas. She started it after Octavia told her he’d be in town for the services and when she went home to bed and Clarke’s heart had stopped racing, she picked up the blank canvas and she fell asleep in front of it.

“It can’t happen again,” she told him quietly as his chest rose against her back with each breath.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said and she could hear the smile in his voice at her ear.

“You have a girlfriend,” she reminded him and, all of a sudden, his hands were on her waist and she was facing him.

“Echo and I broke up months ago,” he told her. “I never told Octavia because it didn’t really bother me.”

“It still shouldn’t happen,” she said weakly. His hands spread and his fingers tightened on her. She’d changed out of her black dress into pajama shorts and a worn tank top and she felt like she wasn’t wearing a shirt at all.

“You and Lexa broke up, didn’t you?” He asked and she nodded. “Then why not?”

“You’re leaving,” she reminded him, peeling her hands off of her. “You’re always leaving.”

He looked like a wounded puppy, but he licked his lips and kept his hands to himself. “That’s fair,” he agreed and she nodded once—definitively.

He ran the fingers of his left hand over the infinity tattoo on his right wrist, just like Octavia did with her matching tattoo when she was nervous. “Let’s just go back downstairs and finish our beers and forget we ever slept together at all,” she said, brushing past him.

“It’s been three years and that plan hasn’t worked yet,” he laughed as he followed her back downstairs.

She couldn’t help but smile to herself. For years, she’d had the biggest crush on the boy who spent the summers next door. It wasn’t until she was twenty-two and he was twenty-five that she got the nerve to do something about it. They’d been drinking, the whole group of them, but the night ended in her pool with just her, Bellamy, and Octavia while her mother slept inside and their grandmother slept next door. When Octavia pushed herself out of the pool and fell asleep in one of the lounge chairs, Clarke took the last sip of her homemade margarita and crossed the pool to where Bellamy was leaning with his eyes plastered to the stars in the sky. Her hands worked their way from his bare chest to his shoulders and his eyes snapped to hers. With a smile, she pressed her chest against his and pulled herself up his body to plant a slow, questioning kiss against his lips. When he responded hotly, they’d somehow made their way out of the water and into her bedroom without anyone waking. Two days later, he left to go back to California and she cried herself to sleep for a week.

They did finish their beers and she asked him about what he was going to be writing. He laughed and said he had no idea, but she knew he was lying. Even if he wasn’t actively writing, Bellamy always had his next idea before the last one was even finished. He asked her about Octavia’s new boyfriend and why he wasn’t at the funeral. She explained that he was visiting his family across the country, but was coming home in a few days. She also told him that he was a good man who loved his sister and to be nice to him because he’d be there when Bellamy was gone. She felt a little bad when she saw his face, but she also knew that he was a writer and he could write anywhere. He just chose not to do it in Ark.

“You got a new tattoo,” she mentioned, fingering the bottom of his left sleeve. She pretended her fingers didn’t burn when his brushed hers so he could push the sleeve up to show her what it was. She gasped, standing up from her stool so she could see it better. “I painted this,” she accused and his lips twitched up into a nervous smile.

“After O visited last year and she brought me the painting, I just kept staring at it,” he explained. Her fingers and eyes moved over his bicep, taking in the greens and blue on his tanned skin. “She and I have the infinity sign, but I wanted something for my mom.”

“I love it,” she breathed, falling against her stool like she’d lost all her bones. “I never would have pictured it for a tattoo, but it works. It looks really good.”

“Well, thank you for painting it for me,” he said quietly and her eyes finally landed on his again. “It looks good in my bedroom and on my arm.”

“I never knew your mom, but I always loved her name. I was fascinated with aurora borealis when I was younger and I knew how much she meant to you,” she explained. “Octavia has a painting, too, but there’s more red in hers.”

“Maybe I’ll see it if she ever opens her bedroom door,” he noted and she laughed.

“She will, just give her some time.”

\--

For two days, Bellamy and Octavia just occupied the same space. She slowly started speaking to him about the blandest possible topics—the weather, her graduation, his books—but at least she was talking to him. On his third day in town, he was sitting in the kitchen with his laptop open in front of him—taunting him.

“You’re coming on Saturday, right?” She asked when she bounded into the seat across from him. Slowly, he closed his computer and pushed it away. For the first time since he’d arrived, she sounded like she actually wanted him there.

“To your graduation? Of course I am,” he promised and she nodded as she ran her fingers over the tattoo on her wrist.

“And then you’re… Leaving?” She asked carefully and Bellamy could tell she didn’t really want to hear the answer.

“Not if you want me to stay,” he told her and she bit her lip before leaning her elbows against the table between them.

“How long does that offer stand?” She asked hopefully and he smiled. He didn’t necessarily want to be in Ark, but it had nothing to do with his sister. It just wasn’t home for him.

“I’m not sure yet, but at least through the summer,” he said and her eyes lit up for a second before her stoic look took over again.

“I’m not going to California with you,” she said with certainty.

“I know,” he sighed and she nodded. “But that offer stands forever, okay?”

“And so does my refusal, big brother,” she said sadly and he sighed again. “But I’m glad you’re here. Be home for dinner, Clarke and Lincoln are coming over.”

“Aye, aye, Captain,” he said with a mock salute and she laughed with a roll of her eyes.

He opened his laptop again, but closed it almost immediately before walking outside and through the yard to Clarke’s. This time, she was on her pool deck and all the breath in Bellamy’s body left when he saw her lying in his favorite pink bikini.

“Stop staring, you pervert,” she said and he shook out of his trance and fell back in the lounge chair next to her. “What do you want?”

“I’m staying the summer,” he told her and she pushed her sunglasses off her face and stared at him. “At least, anyway.”

“Seriously?” She asked, breathless. He nodded and she swung her legs to the side so she was facing him head on. “Why?”

“Like you said, my sister needs me,” he shrugged. “My sister, my responsibility.”

“Good,” she nodded, standing up. She pulled her sunglasses down to her eyes again and turned away from him. “I’ll see you at dinner.”

She walked into her house and left Bellamy alone and he wasn’t sure what to do with himself. It was only noon and now the only two people he wanted to spend time with had dismissed him until dinner. He got into the truck he rented, making a mental note that he’d have to return it soon if he was planning to spend the summer in Ark, and drove to the Dropship. It was a Saturday, so it was packed.

He immediately saw Raven and Harper behind the bar, Jasper waiting tables, and Monty sitting with Miller against the wall. He noticed the mayor’s son, Wells, sitting alone and sat next to him at the bar.

“I hear you’re hanging around for a while, Blake,” Raven said as she laid a coaster in front of him.

“Jesus, word travel fast around here,” he noted, nodding to the closest tap. She smiled, poured him his beer, and put it on his coaster.

“Glad to hear it, anyways. Don’t be a stranger,” she told him and he smiled.

“Thanks for helping the other day,” Bellamy said to Wells but continued staring at his beer. “It meant a lot.”

“Well, your grandmother was a big part of this town. It was the least me and my father could do,” Wells told him and he nodded. “You’re staying in town?”

“For a while, yeah. Why?”

“Every time you leave, someone’s heart breaks,” he said and Bellamy finally looked at him. “Your sister, Clarke, whoever—just be careful this time.”

He left without another word and Bellamy slumped against the bar. “Don’t listen to him,” Monty said when he came to stand next to him. “They’re stronger than he gives them credit for.”

“Does everyone know about me and Clarke?” He asked quietly in case they didn’t and Monty shook his head.

“Wells, me, and Raven,” he told him and Bellamy let out a deep sigh of relief. “Wells is just mad because he’s been in love with Clarke since we were kids. They’re not so close anymore, though. I’m not sure what went down there, but if I had to guess it has to do with you.”

“I’m not here to mess up her life,” he told him defensively and Monty held his hands up in defense as he glanced back at his table. “I’m here for my sister. That’s it.”

“You don’t have to lie to me, Bellamy,” Monty laughed and Bellamy’s brow furrowed. “I know you’re here for your sister and that you have no intentions of hurting one of my best friends, but you’re staying for her just _a little bit_.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he lied and Monty smiled and bit his lip as Raven came to take his order.

“If you hurt either of them, though, there are plenty of people here who will gladly kick your ass,” he threatened when they were alone again.

“I’m just here for the summer. They both know it. I’ve got no plans to hurt either of them,” he promised and Monty nodded.

“Come join us,” he offered nodding back at Miller. He was one of Bellamy’s friends from the summers he’d spent in Ark, but he hadn’t kept in touch with him either. “He doesn’t hold grudges, he’s just glad you’re here for your sister.”

“Does everyone think I’m a goddamn monster?” He sighed, sliding off his stool to walk across the bar. “My grandmother died, my sister is hurting, of course I’m here.”

“You’re not a monster,” Monty promised and Bellamy nodded as they sat down at the table.

\--

Clarke checked herself in the mirror one last time. The sundress she threw on after her conversation with Bellamy was tight where it mattered, and flowy everywhere else. She left her hair down and naturally wavy and only put on a couple of swipes of mascara to make her blue eyes pop. Not that she wanted Bellamy to notice her eyes, because of course she didn’t. Just because he wasn’t leaving in a few days didn’t mean he wasn’t leaving at all.

She grabbed a bottle of wine out of the cellar and walked through her backyard and Octavia’s before climbing onto the porch and knocking on the backdoor. For ten years, for whatever reason, the backdoor was the one of preference for everyone involved. Bellamy answered in a button down shirt, sleeves rolled to his elbows, and his freckles were becoming more prominent the longer he stayed out in the sun. Clarke almost forgot how to breathe when he smiled and the dimple in his chin deepened.

“Welcome to our home,” he greeted her, stepping aside with a flourish to let her inside.

“Home, huh?” She laughed nervously, fingering the bottle in her hand. “That’s new.”

“Just a turn of phrase, Clarke,” he sighed and she shoved the bottle in his hand before spotting Octavia at the oven and walking over to her.

“Where’s Lincoln?” Clarke asked.

“Hi to you, too,” Octavia said sarcastically and Clarke smiled endearingly. “He’ll be here any minute. Make sure Bell plays nice while I finish dinner, please.”

“Bellamy doesn’t do _nice_ , but I’ll try,” she promised and Octavia smiled in return. “Come on, Bellamy. I’m a guest in your _home_. Treat me like one.”

“Yeah, _I_ don’t do nice,” he scoffed. He joined her and Octavia deeper in the kitchen and put a hand on the small of Clarke’s back before guiding her to the living room. They sat down on opposite ends of the couch and she looked over at him, remembering the painting she’d left behind in her studio—nearly finished now. “Stop staring, you pervert,” he said with a smirk, echoing her earlier words and she laughed despite her efforts not to.

“You’ve got a good face,” she told him and it was his turn to laugh. “Has anyone ever told you that? It’s a good art face.”

“Oh, yeah?” He asked and she shrugged noncommittally. “Is that why you’re painting it?”

“You knew?” She asked with a gasp and he laughed again. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Well, because you rejected my advances and I wanted to keep just a sliver of my dignity in case it wasn’t actually me.”

Clarke rested her elbow on her thigh and studied him again, but now he was looking right back at her. He smirked again, tapping her bare knee with his jean clad one and she stifled her own smile unsuccessfully.

“I wish you had rejected my advances,” she admitted.

His face fell, but before he had a chance to reply, the doorbell rang and she stood up so fast, she was sure he got a flash of her thong. She didn’t care, she just couldn’t believe those words had just left her mouth. Lincoln would be a good buffer.

“Thank god you’re home,” she breathed when she opened the door, throwing her arms around her friend. He laughed as he hugged her back. “Come on in. Octavia!”

“Coming, coming,” she called, running into the room. Bellamy stood up as she passed him and Clarke stood back with him while she greeted her boyfriend.

“Is it just me, or is he scary good looking?” Bellamy whispered and Clarke laughed and elbowed him in the stomach as they watched them hug. At least it wasn’t awkward between them, but she knew that would come after Octavia went to bed. It always came after Octavia went to bed.

“Lincoln, this is my big brother. Bellamy, this is my boyfriend,” Octavia said, pulling Lincoln further into the living room.

Clarke watched as Bellamy attempted to stand taller, to match Lincoln’s size to no avail. They shook hands silently and Octavia threw her a worried look and all she could do was shrug. Octavia had had a few boyfriends in the last few years, but they never happened to be around when Bellamy was in town. Clarke almost thought she planned it that way now that she could see the look on Bellamy’s face staring at Lincoln.

“O, is dinner almost done?” Clarke asked, stepping in front of Bellamy to break up the awkwardness and she nodded enthusiastically.

“Yes, let’s all go sit and eat,” she begged, taking her boyfriend’s hand and leaving Clarke and Bellamy alone in the living room. As he went to follow them, Clarke grabbed his wrist to hold him back.

“Keep your glares to a minimum,” she warned and he glared at her in return. “Seriously, he could step on you and kill you.”

“I’ve never been the smallest man in a room,” he said, stepping closer to her so he could keep his voice down. “He’s a fucking giant.”

“Aw, are you intimidated?” She asked with a sarcastic tilt of her head and he glared again.

“You and I both know I have nothing to be ashamed of,” he said with a challenge in his voice and she shook her head. “And are you two like best friends or something?”

“I’m sorry, are you jealous of your sister’s boyfriend? Because that worries me,” she laughed and he rolled his eyes and turned away again. She laughed and caught his wrist again. “Bellamy,” she said, still holding onto him as he faced her again, “He’s a very good guy. He is also a very good friend, so if you’re an ass to him, it won’t just piss off Octavia, it will piss me off too. He doesn’t deserve that. Okay?”

She noticed him glance at her hand on his wrist before his eyes found hers again and he nodded. “Okay.”

“Good,” she said with an easy smile, letting his arm fall, and he smiled before turning toward the kitchen.

\--

Dinner turned out better than Bellamy was expecting. Lincoln actually was a good guy and it only bothered him a little when he joined Octavia upstairs when she begged off for bed. She was and always would be his little sister and he would always worry about her. His sister, his responsibility.

When they headed to bed, though, Bellamy knew he needed to get away. At least for a little while. Clarke had left hours before, but he could see the kitchen light on from the porch and talked himself into walking over and finishing the conversation they were having before Lincoln showed up.

“You’re so predictable,” Clarke said from her perch at the edge of the pool when he let himself onto her pool deck. He just laughed and sat down next to her, rolling his pants up before dropping his feet into the water. “What can I do for you this evening, Bellamy?” She asked, kicking her legs back forth just enough to splash his knees.

“I don’t regret what happened between us three years ago,” he admitted and she nodded. “And it kind of kills me knowing that you do.”

“I don’t,” she sighed, leaning her hands behind her on the concrete. “I just think about it a lot. And remember that you left before we got a chance to talk about it. And then I hate myself for letting it bother me.”

“I had a draft due,” he told her and she scoffed loudly and kicked her feet harder splashing his shirt and her dress in the process. “I did.”

“You knew how I felt and you left without talking to me about it,” she said. “And then I told Wells about it because I needed to talk to _someone_ and things have never been the same between us and Raven has been trying to get me to sleep with you since you got to town and I just want to go back and force you to talk to me. I don’t want to feel like this. Your sister is my best friend and you’re… _You_.”

“I couldn’t talk to you,” he said quietly after a few minutes of digesting her words. She turned her head to look at him and he almost got up and walked away because he didn’t want to talk now either. “I would have stayed and I couldn’t stay. If you had confirmed what I wanted to know, then I would have never left.”

“Why would that be so terrible?” She asked, pleading for him to be honest, and he shrugged.

He knew why. Ark wasn’t his home. He never wanted to be stuck there. He liked California. He had a life there, he had an editor there, he didn’t have reminders of his mother. It made things easier and he needed easy. For ten years, being in California was the easy way out. Summers in Ark were necessary for a good relationship with his sister and a tolerable relationship with his grandparents.

After seven years, though, the fifteen year old he spent the summers next to wasn’t fifteen anymore. She was twenty-two and she was perfect. Her blonde hair, her blue eyes, her soft hands and even softer lips, she was all he wanted and she was too important to mess it up with. He wasn’t going to make a move on her because he didn’t want to do what he ended up doing, but he couldn’t find the control to stop her when she made the first move. So, he kissed her back and all of his dreams became a reality for a night and it was just like her—perfect.

“It’s going to be a long summer, Blake,” she said after his prolonged silence and he nodded. “Just like old times.”

“I’d leave to make it easier,” he told her and from the corner of his eye, he could see her bite her lips and turn to look at him. “But I really want to be here for my sister this summer.”

“And I want that, too,” she told him and he smiled to himself before looking at her. “I don’t want you to go, even if she didn’t need you. It’s nice having you around.”

“Thanks,” he smiled and she shrugged.

“Well, I’m helping with the breakfast rush tomorrow, so I should head to bed. Thanks for stopping by and making me admit all kinds of bottled up feelings.”

“Oh, it was my pleasure,” he laughed and the both stood up. “Thanks for being you.”

“Hey, man, that’s what I’m here for,” she said with a laugh and a roll of her eyes. “I’m sure I’ll see you around.”

“Hard to avoid it these days,” he reminded her nodding to her mother’s house and she laughed.

\--

For a month, Clarke and Bellamy lived next door to each other in general easiness. He was busy working on his draft that was due in September and she was busy working at the bar and getting ready for school. By the time July rolled around, they’d only spent a handful of nights and days together, always surrounded by other people. He was respecting her space after their talk at her pool, making it easier for her to move on from him.

It didn’t work. He was being so respectful to her and so attentive to his sister that it just made her like him even more. At one point, she considered going back to her apartment for more than a party or a night, but she could see how well Raven was adjusting to couple life and she didn’t want to ruin that for her. Clarke liked Wick and he _loved_ Raven, so she’d stay at her mom’s for as long as she could and offer to get a new apartment once school started up. By then, though, Bellamy would be gone and it wouldn’t matter where she lived because he wouldn’t be in the house next to her all the damn time.

On the fourth of July, Raven closed the bar for the day and everyone went to her mother’s for a pool party. She put on her favorite American flag bikini with torn jean shorts—cliché necessity—and Bellamy came over to man the grill on her porch. The two of them skirted around each other while Octavia and Lincoln set up all of the extra chairs and tables on the pool deck.

Eventually, everyone else showed up. Raven, Wick, Jasper, Monty, Miller, Harper, Monroe, Fox, Maya, and even Wells and Murphy.

“So, are you ever coming home?” Raven asked as they leaned against the porch railing, sipping on red and blue margaritas. “Or are you going to stay here and stare at your freckle faced neighbor until he packs up and leaves again?”

“The latter,” she mumbled, watching the man in question as he laughed with Harper over the grill. “I’m a masochist, what can I say?”

“I miss you,” Raven whined and Clarke smiled.

“You see me every day,” she laughed and Raven shrugged. “I think Wick should move in.”

“All right, slow your roll,” Raven said, nearly choking. “It’s only been six months.”

“And he’s there every night! It just makes sense,” Clarke told her and she sighed dramatically before hopping off the porch and jumping into the pool right near Monty and Jasper.

Clarke remained at the corner of her porch, her eyes still on Bellamy’s bare back—also covered in freckles—and she sighed. Despite the fact he was on the exact opposite end of the porch, he turned at the sound and she smiled tightly in his direction until he nodded her over. Reluctantly, she left her post and took the spot Harper had just vacated.

“How’s it going?” He asked conversationally while deliberately not looking anywhere but her face. She almost smiled triumphantly, but then her eyes betrayed her and fell to his chest and her mouth ran dry for a second.

“Hot,” she answered, throwing back the rest of her margarita. “How’s the grilling going? I’m starving.”

“Food will be done soon,” he promised and she nodded.

“Octavia tells me you’re writing a lot lately,” she mentioned, pushing herself onto the railing and he shrugged. “So modest.”

“It’s not enough. I’m not going to get this draft done in time,” he explained and she frowned. “It’s fine. My editor will kill me, but at least Octavia has a house to live in and job starting soon so I don’t have to worry about taking care of her.”

“You still will,” Clarke accused and he laughed and shrugged a shoulder. “And I believe in you. You’ll get it done.”

“You have more faith in me than I do,” he told her, his eyes falling from her face for the first time. “I didn’t know you were so patriotic.”

“’Merica,” she mumbled in a southern accent and he laughed and scratched his chest. From her perch, she could see his aurora borealis tattoo perfectly and she couldn’t look away. “I hope you put sunscreen on that thing.”

“I did,” he said, glancing at it quickly. “Don’t worry, your art is safe on my skin.”

“Good, I worked hard on that. Getting those colors right is damn near impossible on a canvas, I can’t imagine how someone did it on your arm,” she said, reaching forward to brush her fingers over it. When she glanced up from it, she could feel eyes on her and she turned her head in time to see Wells look away from her in haste. “Wells hates you,” she told Bellamy and he nearly choked. “And me.”

“Well, yeah,” he nodded looking over the side of the porch where Wells was standing with Miller. “Sorry about that.”

“Me too,” she sighed, sliding off the railing to stand next to him. “But no regrets, right?”

“Absolutely not,” he promised and she smiled before standing taller to kiss his cheek. If he mentioned it, she’d blame the two margaritas she’d had. “Food’s done,” he whispered and she realized just how close they were standing once she was on the flats of her feet.

“Thank god,” she whispered back and her eyes fell to his lips as he licked them. For a split second, she forgot about the crowd of people around them and their messy history. All she could think about was the memory of his lips on hers and she nearly stood taller and closer so she could feel it again.

“Is the food done?”

Clarke sprang back, letting out a deep breath when Murphy interrupted them. For the first time in her life she was actually thankful he was around.

“Yup,” Bellamy nodded and Clarke practically ran away so she didn’t get into any trouble.

\--

As night fell, Bellamy stayed close to the edge of the pool. He leaned back on his palms and stared at the sky above him and his friends. The fact that he could call them _his_ friends was strange to him, but he’d known most of them for ten years and they always took him in like he was one of theirs when he was in town. He had to admit, he didn’t hate it. And Octavia loved them, so even if he left he wouldn’t have to worry about her as much as he normally would. He still would worry about her, of course, but that would never change.

The stars in Ark shone brighter than anywhere else he’d ever lived and he didn’t hate that either. He’d always been fascinated by them and always worked them into his novels somehow. They were also scattered across the tattoo on his bicep, but that was thanks to Clarke’s painting, not his love of stars.

“They’re like your freckles in the dead of summer,” Clarke said as she swam to him, leaning her elbows next to his thighs, and he looked down at her.

“What do you mean?” He asked and she sighed before pushing herself to sit next to him. She was dripping from every inch of her body, but he didn’t mind.

“The stars,” she said, leaning back next to him so she could look at them too. “They’re brighter here, right? Than at home?”

“Yeah,” he confirmed quietly. He wasn’t sure how she knew what he’d just been thinking, but it was just like her to always say the right thing.

“They’re brighter here like your freckles are darker in the summer,” she said. “Like today, they just stuck out so much. I like that I only see them in the summer. I think I’d miss them otherwise.”

“I used to hate them,” he told her and she smiled softly while her eyes remained on the sky. “They’re darker in the summer, but they never go away. And Octavia and my mom never had them, so I thought I was some kind of freak.”

“I love them,” she said quietly and his head fell against his shoulder so he could look at her. “I don’t get them either.”

“You have a cluster on your knee,” he noted, tracing them and she shivered below his touch. “And you always get them on the back of your neck in the summer.”

He brushed her wet hair over her shoulder and traced them there as well and her breathing turned ragged. He had to stop or they’d both end up hating him. She was just as perfect he remembered, but he always knew that. She was Clarke Griffin and she was going to have a hold on his heart for the rest of his sad, pathetic life.

“Why?” She asked breathlessly and his finger ran down her shoulder and back again.

“Why what?” He whispered, leaning closer to the wet skin of her neck without actually touching her there with his lips even though he wanted to more than anything.

“Why do you have to leave?” She asked, turning to look at him. “Why can’t you stay here with your sister? With me?”

He really wished they were alone because he wanted to tell her everything about him, but he couldn’t do it with their friends scattered around them. Even though none of them were paying attention to them and they were all too drunk to notice, he wasn’t about to spill his guts out.

“Come inside,” she said, standing up without giving him a chance to answer. He got up and followed her across the pool deck and the porch until they were safely alone in the kitchen. She was still wet, but pushed herself onto the counter farthest from the door and nodded him over.

He stood in front of her and she used her feet to hook him and pull him to stand between her knees. He leaned his palms against the surface of the counter and ran his nose along her collarbone before pressing further into her to kiss her. She reacted immediately, tightening her legs around his waist and kissing him harder. His hands left the counter to wrap around her back and one fisted in her hair to keep her against him.

For three years, he’d wanted nothing more than to feel her against him again. He dreamed of her skin in the moonlight and her voice in his ear. He imagined her fingers in his hair and her legs around his waist. “Don’t go,” she pleaded when his lips latched to the skin of her chest and she arched against him while her fingers tangled in the hair at the base of his skull.

“Okay,” he promised and she pushed herself forward to capture his lips again and press her chest against his. Without thinking, he wrapped his arms around her and picked her up from the counter before stumbling through her mother’s house, leaving her guests unattended by the pool.

\--

Clarke woke up to the sun shining through her curtains and a set of lips moving up the line of her spine. She sighed contentedly and Bellamy chuckled against the skin of her back before nudging her to roll over and face him. When she was on her back, he immediately moved to pin her against the mattress and kissed her fervently until her knees bent to cradle him against her and she arched her back to meet him with the same amount of passion.

“You weren’t drunk, were you?” She asked him between kisses and he pulled his head away from her completely and furrowed his brow. She wasn’t proud of herself, but she whined at the loss of contact. She didn’t even mind the morning breath.

“Seriously?” He asked and she shrugged desperately. “No,” he promised, leaning in to kiss her again and she smiled against his lips and wrapped her arms around him, but then thought of something else.

“Wait,” she said, pushing him to the other side of her bed and he sputtered when he landed on his back. She crawled to rest on his chest and looked down at him. “You’re staying, then?”

“I’ve been thinking about it for a while,” he admitted and she smiled for him to continue. “Octavia’s here. I can write anywhere. _You’re_ here.”

“I never thought that mattered to you,” she admitted quietly and he pulled her to lie completely on top of him.

“It’s always mattered to me,” he told her and she kissed him without thinking.

“What about your mom?” She asked, fingering the tattoo on his arm and he sighed while he thought about it. She kissed the crease in his brow and then the tip of his nose and finally the tree in the corner of his tattoo.

“She always wanted me and Octavia to be together,” he told her. “And she grew up here, in that house. Both of them did. I can’t live in it forever, but I can live in Ark. I want to if it means staying with my sister… And getting a chance at being with you.”

“That’s kind of predetermined,” she told him and he smiled before leaning forward to kiss her again. She rolled them onto their sides and hitched a around his waist and he moaned against her mouth.

“If you two want to wrench yourselves away from each other, we’re all heading to the bar for breakfast,” Raven announced as she poked her head into her room.

“You’re all still here?” Clarke asked, keeping her chest pinned against Bellamy’s as she looked over her shoulder. She could feel Bellamy’s breath on her neck as he hid his face there.

“Most of us,” she confirmed, leaning against the doorframe, completely unfazed by the naked couple in bed covered only by a thin white sheet. “Wells, Murphy, Monroe, Harper, and Fox left. Octavia and Lincoln slept next door and the rest of us kind of camped out by the pool.”

“Give us ten minutes?” Clarke asked, running her hand down the back of Bellamy’s head and Raven gave her a thumbs up before backing out of the room and closing the door behind her. “I guess we should get dressed,” she said and he sighed before kissing and licking her neck. “Bellamy,” she laughed, pushing him away and he grunted and rolled away from her.

“Fine,” he said, reaching for his bathing suit and pulling it on.

She got dressed quickly and threw her chlorine infested hair into a messy bun on top of her head and grabbed her sunglasses from her dresser. Bellamy made his way around the bed and crowded her against the door, kissing her fully and she wrapped her arms around his neck.

“I think I’m going to like this whole you staying in Ark thing,” she said and he nodded with a smiled before kissing her a final time and backing away so she could open the door.

She shooed him away to go get dressed so she could brush her teeth and he promised to meet her outside in two minutes. As he made his way out the back door, she heard their friends cheer in his wake and she smiled to herself before brushing her teeth.

When it was her turn to face the music, they all just stood up and clapped. She bowed dramatically and laughed as Octavia threw her arms around her neck. “Does it mean he’s staying?” She asked and even though Clarke knew the answer, she knew it was Bellamy’s job to tell his sister the news.

“Talk to him,” she said and Octavia grunted and rolled her eyes before falling against Lincoln’s side.

The group of them walked outside and Bellamy was just walking out the back door in a pair of shorts and a plaid shirt rolled to his elbows. They met in the middle of the houses and set off on foot toward the bar. They were, for once, all coupled off and walked down the street as such.

Octavia and Lincoln led the pack, followed by Jasper and Maya, then Miller and Monty, Raven and Wick, and finally Bellamy and Clarke. Bellamy had his arm slung over her shoulders and pressed a kiss to her temple while the rest of the group ahead of them talked about the party the night before. The sun was already blisteringly hot, but no one seemed to mind. At this point, they were all used to it.

“What happens now?” Clarke asked quietly and Bellamy pulled her closer before answering.

“Uh, now we date… I guess?” He laughed and she joined him. “Do we date? Do we need to date?”

“We already know most everything about each other,” she agreed and he nodded, squinting at the sun. “You have to, like, _move_ here. So, eventually you have to go back to California, right?”

“For a little while, yeah,” he confirmed. “I’ll do that in September when I was planning on it, when my book is due. I’ll just get everything all wrapped up there and come back here. I should probably find a house, though.”

“Whoa, big shot over here,” she laughed and he scoffed. “You want to buy a house?”

“Well, it’s not like I don’t have the money,” he laughed. “I am a _New York Time’s_ bestselling author, thank you very much.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Last night you made it sound like you’d be living on the streets if you didn’t finish this book,” she reminded him and Bellamy shrugged.

“I’m dramatic, what can I say?”

Clarke just rolled her eyes and threw her arm across his back, tangling her fingers in his belt loops.

“But seriously, if I’m staying here, I should just buy a house and make the commitment,” he told her and she nodded. “It makes sense, doesn’t it?”

“I like commitments,” she smiled and he shook his head and kissed her quickly. “Commit to whatever you want. I support you.”

“Good, because you’re stuck with me,” he promised and she bit her lip to keep from smiling too widely.

“That’s kind of the point of commitment,” she reminded him and he barked out a laugh, earning a curious glance from Octavia as they filed into the bar.

Harper and Monroe were already behind the bar and Raven joined them, telling everyone else she and Wick would make them a big breakfast—family style.

\--

When Bellamy finally arrived back home, the things he’d shipped had beat him back and he found Clarke hanging up the painting that matched his tattoo over his mantle. When she realized he was there, she nearly dropped it before running into his arms. You’d think he was gone a year instead of two weeks, but he couldn’t deny how happy he was to be back with her.

“Hey,” he said into her hair and she tightened her arms around his neck and kissed him.

“Hi,” she finally said when she settled onto the flats of her feet. “How was the flight?”

“Long,” he told her, hands resting on her hips just so he didn’t have to stop touching her. “How’s school?”

“Hard,” she laughed and he smiled because he knew that, no matter how hard it got, she was doing what she always wanted to do. “My mom came home. She can’t wait to dig her claws in you. Ready to get grilled?”

“I guess,” he laughed. “My editor loved the book. He’s going to send it back for me to make edits in a couple of weeks.”

“Then we should set this place up,” she said, stepping out her grasp. “No one’s going to do it for you once your knee deep in revisions.”

He nodded and watched as she went back to hanging pictures and unpacking piles of books, making sure they stayed in alphabetical order by author, and he leaned his shoulder against the wall and crossed his arms. He continued to watch her walk through the first floor of his house, knowing it better than he did at this point.

“Stay,” he heard himself saying and she turned to look at him like he was crazy.

“You just got back after two weeks, of course I’m staying,” she said like it was obvious and he smirked before pushing himself off the wall and crossing the room to get his hands on her again.

“No, stay here,” he said and she brows hitched in question again. “For good. Get your stuff from Raven’s and your mom’s and stay with me,” he elaborated and she started breathing rapidly. “I mean, if you want to. That sounded really demanding, it’s totally up to-“

He was cut off by her lips on his, kissing him harder than she’d ever kissed him before. It nearly took his breath away.

“Okay,” she said when she finally stepped away from him, smiling. “But your sister’s coming to see you, so we should revisit this conversation when we can celebrate appropriately.”

“That sounds good,” he smiled and she hooked an arm around his hips and led him through _their_ living room and into _their_ kitchen.

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you think!
> 
> Come find me on [Tumblr](http://bellamyfrecklefaceblake.tumblr.com)!


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